Who says that cheaters never prosper? An innovative new weight-loss program encourages dieters to cheat… in order to drop stubborn pounds! And we don’t just mean sneaking a chip here and there. In Cheat to Lose (Crown, 2007), fitness author and consultant Joel Marion creates a weight-loss regimen that factors in cheating as a key part of diet success. In this LifeScript exclusive, Marion talks about why people cheat on their diets, and how it can actually help you to lose weight...

LifeScript: How would you describe the Cheat To Lose Diet?

Joel Marion: The Cheat to Lose Diet is a weight-loss program in which strategic planned cheating (with any and all of your favorite foods) is used to evade the negative metabolic adaptations that everyone is doomed to experience while attempting to lose weight.

LS: What sets it apart from other diets?

Marion: Cheat to Lose is the only diet that has been specifically designed to work with the body, both on a physical and psychological level, instead of against it. Dieting is hard enough psychologically, but what’s even worse is the physical adaptations that take place after only a couple weeks of calorie restriction. When you’re not eating enough food day after day, week after week (as is the case with all calorie-restrictive diets), the brain begins to tell the body to drastically slow metabolism and stop burning fat.

It’s our bodies’ way of protecting us against starvation and, unfortunately, our bodies don’t know the difference between dieting and starvation. They just know we’re not getting enough food. With Cheat to Lose, we get around this major dietary dilemma with a solution that couldn’t possibly be any better – planned cheating.

LS: How does cheating help people lose?

Marion: Cheating helps people lose by manipulating a very powerful hormone called leptin. Leptin, also known as the “anti-starvation” hormone, fluctuates with calorie intake. Low levels of this hormone signal to the brain that you’re not eating enough (causing the body to preserve fat as a starvation protection mechanism), while normal to high leptin levels signal that food intake is adequate and it is OK for the body to use fat as an energy source.

Unfortunately, leptin levels plummet rapidly when dieting (by about 50% after only one week), which in turn drastically decelerates fat loss. This is why it only generally takes a few weeks before most individuals fall off a diet – the results just aren’t motivating enough to warrant the sacrifice. (See related story: Why Aren’t You Losing Weight?)

Yet while it only takes about a week to see such a significant decline in leptin, it only takes one day of “splurging” to bring levels of this fat-burning hormone back to baseline. And for those worried that a day of dietary defiance will nullify recent progress, have no fear – leptin levels rise faster than lost fat is able to regenerate. By implementing regular dietary cheating, results actually come much faster than with restrictive dieting, week after week.

LS: What foods can people enjoy on the Cheat To Lose plan?

Marion: Another major benefit of the Cheat to Lose Diet is the extreme variety that it offers – more so than any other diet out there (and that’s not even including the cheating!). Even during the week there is a time and place for just about anything you’re in the mood for – from steak to chicken and fish and the typically “off-limits” breads, pastas, rice, and potatoes. Because the research has shown leptin to be so highly correlated with carbohydrates, we strategically manipulate carb intake during the week to keep leptin levels high even when [you’re] not cheating.

As for “cheat days,” there are a few small rules, the major one being never to stuff yourself to the point of discomfort – that’s not the purpose of the cheat day. It’s supposed to be something you enjoy, not regret. Other than that, there aren’t any limits on the types of foods that folks can cheat with or anything like that. I encourage people to be completely free – if they’re in the mood for it, go for it. Eat until you’re moderately full and then tackle your next craving when you’re hungry again.

LS: What kind of results can people expect?

Marion: The initial three-week phase, the Priming Phase, is a period of rapid progress; people can expect to lose anywhere from 7-12 pounds during this phase. During the diet’s main phase, the Core Phase, typical results are an additional two pounds and two inches lost consistently, week after week, while enjoying all your favorite foods. It’s important to see the inches come off, and not just scale weight. That’s measurable evidence that you’re losing fat, and not just weight – which can be two completely different things.

LS: Why does cheating have such a negative connotation?

Marion: There are many reasons, probably the most glaring being that “cheat foods” are the foods that people believe have caused them to be overweight and unhealthy. So eating them while attempting to lose weight only brings about feelings of guilt and failure. And that’s very understandable, as the premise is essentially true: When you’re eating those types of foods every day, it will no doubt lead to weight gain and poor health.

The problem is the misconception that cheating can never yield anything positive to one’s fat loss efforts, and that’s the untruth that I’m exposing with the Cheat to Lose Diet. When you understand how the body works, you understand that regular cheating is absolutely essential to weight loss success.

LS: How many people have followed the Cheat to Lose plan?

Marion: In addition to my clients, we did a few international test groups with the exact program featured in the book. And then there are the many thousands around the world who have used the “cheating” advice in my writings and articles.

LS: What does a typical day of meals look like on the Cheat to Lose plan?

Marion: The types of foods depend on the day of the week, but the typical structure is three meals with snacks in between. I stress protein with every meal to keep blood sugar under control and there are also plenty of healthy fats and a variety of carbohydrates, again depending on the day. Here is just [a one-day] example from the 12 weeks of meal plans included in the book:

Breakfast: Pumpkin Pancakes

Snack: Café Mocha Protein Smoothie

Lunch: Oven-Roasted Turkey and Cucumber Sandwich

Snack: Blueberry Cobbler Parfait

Dinner: Zucchini Parmigiana

LS: Where do people go wrong when it comes to losing weight?

Marion: Weight loss is a very complex problem that people, including “experts,” try to solve with common sense – that’s the wrong approach. You hear the term “common sense nutrition” all the time. And although the common sense approach has consistently yielded less than mediocre results time after time, year after year, we still cling to it. That’s because on the surface it makes sense and we think that eating less is what we have to do to lose weight. We repeatedly do something that consistently hasn’t worked and think we’re going to all of a sudden get a different result.

While the Cheat to Lose Diet is about as uncommon sense as it gets (cheating to lose weight faster), uncommon sense is exactly what dieters need. The body is too complex for common sense and it’s about time we start thinking – and acting – a little deeper. And that’s my passion, to educate people so they can see just how much sense an approach like Cheat to Lose makes. It really is an epiphanic experience when you get it.

LS: What type of research supports Cheat to Lose?

Marion: I’ve spent the last five years researching the body’s hormonal response to dieting and the overall regulation of body weight and metabolism. It’s been a fascinating experience and the foundation for my creating the Cheat to Lose Diet. In the book, I reference over 300 peer-reviewed medical research studies and review papers. There is a myriad of science backing the program. (See related story: 7 Secrets to Revving Up Your Metabolism)

I’ve had the opportunity to take the scientific research, create a weight loss program that actually works with the body instead of against it, and then further research [how that approach works] in the real world through the experiences of the many individuals I’ve worked with. It’s an ideal blend of science, theory and what flat-out has been shown to work with real people in a real-life setting.

LS: How did Cheat to Lose help you?

Marion: Just like most others, I thought that calorie restriction and a cheat-free lifestyle was the only way I was going to achieve the body I wanted. Fortunately, I fell off that unrealistic path and ended up stumbling on the Cheat to Lose approach through a series of dietary screw-ups back in 2002. After indulging a couple times one week with pasta, pizza, and ice cream, I actually lost more weight and fat that week than I did in the previous three extremely strict weeks combined!

From there, it’s been a lot of research, tweaking and revamping, but ultimately the approach I discovered made health, fitness and staying in shape highly realistic and fun for me – two things that dieting over the long term could never be otherwise. It’s helped me realize this on a personal level, and of course that’s something I want others to experience, thus this book.

What's Your Diet Downfall?You already know if you're a junk food junkie or a sucker for bread and butter. You know if you've got a sweet tooth or a salty incisor. So what else is there to know about why your diet isn't working? Find out if you're unwittingly sabotaging your weight-loss plan and adding inches to your waistline with this diet quiz.